Ostomy patient care system and method

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods of providing post-operative ostomy patient care can include software and/or hardware that facilitates patient care personnel, such as a patient coach, providing remote patient care or coaching over a network to an ostomy patient. The care may be provided by specially trained former patients, nurses, or other care providers. The system can integrate sensor data from an ostomy device and inputs from the former patients, healthcare professionals, and/or device manufacturer in provide the post-operative care.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO ANY PRIORITY APPLICATIONS

Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claimis identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the presentapplication are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57.

BACKGROUND

The physical and emotional adjustment to wearing an ostomy bag can bedifficult for new ostomy patients. These adjustments can include notonly the short-term physical challenges involved with caring for thesurgical site and operating the ostomy bag after an ostomy procedure,but also the more long-term physical and emotional challenges oflearning to incorporate use of the ostomy bag in everyday living. Theselonger-term struggles can include everything from learning to empty theostomy bag to overcoming fears of embarrassment and adjusting to analtered body image.

SUMMARY

Conventionally, limited patient care and training may be provided afteran ostomy operation by the patient's clinical team. However, the ongoingday to day mental and physical difficulties of the transition to wearingan ostomy bag are difficult to address once the patient returns home.Thus, there is a need for patient care and coaching on an ongoing basis.

In some configurations, a system of providing post-operative care to anostomy patient by a non-healthcare professional can include anon-transitory storage medium configured to store computer-executableinstructions; and at least one hardware processor in communication withthe non-transitory storage medium, wherein the at least one hardwareprocessor is configured to: receive and process, over a network, ostomydata, wherein the ostomy data comprises data associated with use of anostomy device by the ostomy patient, the ostomy data including at leasta stomal output measurement; transmit, over the network, the processedostomy data to a care provider device, the care provider device beingoperated by a non-healthcare professional; receive an input from thenon-healthcare professional via the care provider device in response tothe processed ostomy data; and transmit the input to the patient device.

In some configurations, the non-healthcare professional may have worn anostomy device for a longer period than the ostomy patient.

In some configurations, the hardware processor can be further configuredto receive, over the network, patient input data.

In some configurations, the patient input data can comprise informationrelating to at least one of food and/or liquids consumed by the user.

In some configurations, the hardware processor can be further configuredto generate, based on the ostomy data and the patient input data, amonitored value.

In some configurations, the hardware processor can be further configuredto generate an alert if the monitored value exceeds or falls below athreshold value.

In some configurations, the hardware processor can be further configuredto transmit the alert to the care provider device.

In some configurations, the input can comprise a communication requestfrom the care provider device to communicate with the patient device inresponse to the alert, the hardware processor further configured totransmit the communication request to the patient device and establishconnection between the patient device and the care provider device.

In some configurations, the hardware processor can be further configuredto transmit a request to a healthcare professional by the care providerdevice in response to the alert.

In some configurations, the hardware processor can be further configuredto transmit a request to a patient treatment delivery service by thenon-healthcare professional or the healthcare professional in responseto the alert.

In some configurations, the hardware processor can be further configuredto transmit a technical alert to a manufacturer of the ostomy device inresponse to the input, the input comprising a determination by thenon-healthcare professional of a possible technical fault in the ostomydevice.

In some configurations, the ostomy device can comprise an ostomy bagincluding one or more sensor layers disposed in, on, or between walls ofthe ostomy bag; and an electronics hub configured to transmit signalsassociated with the one or more sensor layers.

In some configurations, the ostomy device can comprise an ostomy wafer,the ostomy wafer including a plurality of sensors in communication withthe electronics hub, the ostomy wafer including a patient facing surfaceand an ostomy bag facing surface that are opposite each other.

In some configurations, a method of providing post-operative care to anostomy patient by a non-healthcare professional can include: receiving,over a network, and processing ostomy data, wherein the ostomy datacomprises data associated with use of an ostomy device by the ostomypatient, the ostomy data including at least a stomal output measurement;transmitting, over the network, the processed ostomy data to a careprovider device, the care provider device being operated by anon-healthcare professional; receive an input from the non-healthcareprofessional via the care provider device in response to the processedostomy data; and transmit the input to the patient device.

In some configurations, the non-healthcare professional may have worn anostomy device for a longer period than the ostomy patient.

In some configurations, the method can further comprise receiving, overthe network, patient input data.

In some configurations, the method can further comprise generating,based on the ostomy data and the patient input data, a monitored value.

In some configurations, the method can further comprise generating analert if the monitored value exceeds or falls below a threshold value.

In some configurations, the method can further comprise transmitting thealert to the care provider device.

In some configurations, the input can comprise a communication requestfrom the care provider device to communicate with the patient device inresponse to the alert, the method further comprising transmitting thecommunication request to the patient device and establishing connectionbetween the patient device and the care provider device.

In some configurations, the method can further comprise transmitting arequest to a healthcare professional by the care provider device inresponse to the alert.

In some configurations, the method can further comprise transmitting arequest to a patient treatment delivery service by the non-healthcareprofessional or the healthcare professional in response to the alert.

In some configurations, the method can further comprise transmitting atechnical alert to a manufacturer of the ostomy device in response tothe input, the input comprising a determination by the non-healthcareprofessional of a possible technical fault in the ostomy device.

In some configurations, the ostomy device can comprise an ostomy bagincluding one or more sensor layers disposed in, on, or between walls ofthe ostomy bag; and an electronics hub configured to transmit signalsassociated with the one or more sensor layers.

In some configurations, the ostomy device can comprise an ostomy wafer,the ostomy wafer including a plurality of sensors in communication withthe electronics hub, the ostomy wafer including a patient facing surfaceand an ostomy bag facing surface that are opposite each other.

For purposes of summarizing the disclosure, certain aspects, advantages,and novel features of several embodiments have been described herein. Itis to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages can beachieved in accordance with any particular embodiment of the embodimentsdisclosed herein. Thus, the embodiments disclosed herein can be embodiedor carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage orgroup of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving otheradvantages as taught or suggested herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an overview of an example ostomy monitoringenvironment.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example view of a patient care interface for apatient to contact a care provider.

FIG. 2B illustrates an example view of a patient care interface for apatient or care provider to book an appointment.

FIG. 2C illustrates an example view of a patient care interface for acare provider to manage appointments.

FIG. 2D illustrates an example view of a patient care interface forvideo chat between care providers and patients.

FIG. 3A illustrates an example patient care alert process.

FIG. 3B illustrates example hydration monitoring interfaces.

FIG. 3C illustrates an example patient care monitoring process.

FIG. 4 depicts an example patient care workflow.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Introduction

This disclosure describes embodiments of systems and methods for patientcare. The systems and methods of patient care can include softwareand/or hardware that facilitates patient care personnel providing remotepatient care or coaching over a network to a patient, such as an ostomypatient. For instance, this patient care may be provided for a period oftime after an ostomy operation. One benefit of this patient care may bereduced readmissions of patients for subsequent surgery or care at ahospital. The patient care systems and methods can be examples oftelehealth or telemedicine applications.

Ostomy patients, in particular, are chronic patients in that they mustdeal with the daily care and maintenance of an ostomy bag or pouch.Because of this ongoing need, patients may require ongoing care,especially in the weeks and months following an ostomy procedure whenthe patient is adapting to the new physical and emotional challenges ofwearing an ostomy bag. An ostomy procedure involves significant changesin a person's appearance and daily living. These changes necessitate acertain adaptation of lifestyle, such as knowing when and how to emptyor change an ostomy bag or pouch, can raise new medical concerns, suchas effectiveness of time-released medication, and/or can createsignificant body image and relationship concerns.

This disclosure describes examples of systems and methods for remotemonitoring and care of an ostomy patient, such as to help a new ostomypatient adjusting to wearing an ostomy bag. One example system caninclude connecting a patient with a social platform by which a casemanager, patient coach, and/or clinical care provider can access datafrom sensors on the ostomy bag and/or wafer and interact with thepatient to provide care, such as in response to the received data fromthe sensors. A patient coach can be an ostomy patient who has experiencein wearing an ostomy bag, but is not a healthcare professional such as anurse, physician, etc. The patient coach can be someone that has worn anostomy bag for a duration longer than the new ostomy patient. Thepatient coach can also be someone that is still wearing an ostomy bag orhas worn an ostomy bag in the past. A patient coach can also be someonethat has assisted or has been educated by someone that has worn anostomy bag. A patient coach can be someone who has been trained andbecome certified by an accredited body as a health coach.

The patient coach can analyze ostomy data received from the ostomy bag(such as from sensors on the ostomy bag and/or the ostomy wafer). Thecare can be in the form of technological support for the ostomy system,emotional support, and/or medical support. In case of a measuredparameter in the ostomy data being outside a normal range, above orbelow a threshold, or otherwise indicating abnormality in the patient'sstomal output or the stoma site (such as showing traces of blood,presence or absence of certain electrolytes, etc.), the patient coachcan provide guidance (which can be technical and/or emotional support)to the new patient, determine whether other explanations exist for theabnormalities, refer the case to a healthcare professional fordiagnosis, alert an ostomy device manufacturer of possible malfunctionof the device, and/or ordering delivery of treatment (for example,fluid, antibiotics, and the like) to the new patient in response to theanalysis of the ostomy data. Knowledge of experience from the patientcoach, who may better understand the needs of the new patients, canadvantageously offer emotional support and a possibility to reduce thelearning curve of the new patient (which may be more real-time and morereadily available than visiting a healthcare professional) in areas ofostomy self-care, ostomy supplies, social interaction, job, school, orany activity integration and self-knowledge to reduce or prevent healthcomplications. The availability of an available healthcare professionaland/or treatment delivery service, if needed, may help decreaseunplanned hospital visits during the immediate post discharge period.The care provided to the new ostomy patient can take into accountreal-time patient data and/or allow more patient-specific decisions.

The systems and methods for patient care described herein can beimplemented with any medical device. For example, the systems andmethods may be implemented with an ostomy device. One such example of anostomy device that may be used with the features described herein is theostomy device described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,642,737, titled “PortableLevel Sensor,” issued May 9, 2017, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety. Another example of such adevice is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/184764, filedNov. 8, 2018, titled “OSTOMY MONITORING SYSTEM AND METHOD,” thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.Additionally, the ostomy device discussed below with respect to FIG. 1may also implement the patient care features.

Overview

An ostomy bag can be a medical bag that collects human waste (eitherstools, urine, or both) from patients who cannot excrete waste naturallydue to medical issues, which include, among others, cancer, trauma,inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), bowel obstruction, infection, andfecal incontinence. In such cases, a surgical procedure is performedwhereby a waste passage is created. This waste passage can be the ureter(called an urostomy), the small bowel or ileum (called an ileostomy,part of the small intestine) or the large bowl or colon (called acolostomy, part of the large intestine), which may be diverted to anartificial opening in the abdominal wall, thus resulting in part of thespecific internal anatomy, to lie partially outside the body wall. Thisprocedure can be referred to as an ostomy, and the part of the wastepassage which is seen on the outside of the body can be referred to as astoma.

Ostomy patients can have unique challenges following an ostomyprocedure. For example, in the weeks and months following the procedure,ostomy patients must learn how to care for the area around their stoma,learn the process of changing and emptying their ostomy bag, learn aboutmedical complications with having a stoma, and/or learn to adjust theirplanning and lifestyle around being able to change and empty theirostomy bag when necessary. Some of these skills can be taught byclinicians (such as nurses) post-operatively, but many patients haveongoing questions and concerns regarding these adjustments that requirecontinuing clinical care. Similarly, there are many emotional challengesinvolved with learning to live with a stoma. In particular, the stomaitself constitutes a physical change to the patient's body that requiresan emotional adjustment. With this change, many patients are confrontedwith a significant change in body image with the stoma and may presentwith emotional fears regarding, for example, physically taking care ofthe stoma, ostomy bag leakage, traveling with an ostomy bag, and/or theimpact of the stoma on the patient's personal relationships. Treatingtheses emotional challenges requires ongoing care to properly address.

Ongoing patient care can be provided via a social platform that connectspatients with care providers. The care providers may be a clinicianand/or a trained patient coach or “champion,” such as a more seasonedostomy patient. The platform may receive information from an ostomymonitoring system, which can include a smart ostomy bag (or “smart bag”)and/or wafer such as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/184,764 and include patient and care provider interfaces that allow apatient to view and upload relevant information. A care provider canmonitor and provide care to a patient via the platform. Access to theplatform may come included with the smart bag or be granted through asubscription service.

An example smart bag and/or wafer can have integrated sensors that cantrack one or more in-situ physical events inside the bag. These eventscan include volumetric analysis, flow rate, physical phase of theeffluent, viscosity of the effluent, possible skin irritation, leakageoccurrence around the stoma and saturation of the hydrocolloid, and/orthe like. The smart bag can also track more detailed clinical/analyticalmetrics of the bag such as electrolytic measurements, pH, and othermarkers.

An example smart bag may also include one or more wireless transmittersthat transmit data from the ostomy wafer and/or ostomy bag to anotherdevice, such as a hub, a user device, a clinician device, and/or aback-end system. For example, the ostomy wafer and/or the ostomy bag canwirelessly transmit data to a hub coupled to the ostomy bag, and the hubcan transmit the received data to a back-end system (such as cloudservers). A user device (for example, a smartphone or tablet used by thepatient and/or the patient coach) can download the data and otherinformation from the remote server.

A mobile application and/or web site can be provided to patients and/orthe patient coaches, which can include a platform of different trackerssuch as food and hydration trackers. With the application optionallybeing able to record metrics such as diet and hydration (via userinteraction and trackers within the app) and the bag sensor(s) able toindicate the volume in the bag, this integrated platform can help toprovide early signs of inflammation, dehydration, dietary issues, oreven GI dysfunction in patients. Dehydration can be a significant metricbecause it is one of the most common reasons why patients are readmittedinto the hospital in the first three months following ostomy surgery.Thus, providing features that can help patients and/or the patientcoaches become aware of the output in the ostomy bag can enable patientsand/or the patient coaches to better monitor and prevent dehydration,improving quality of care and life while at the same time potentiallyreducing the likelihood and/or extent of post-operative care, such asdue to in hospital re-admissions following initial stoma surgery.

The platform may include an interface for patients and care providers tocommunicate and for care providers to provide care and coaching. Theinterface may provide various means of establishing communicationbetween the patient and care provider. For example, the patient may beable to use an interface to contact a care provider by calling themthrough the interface. Alternatively, they may schedule an appointmentto meet in person or via the application through a calendar application.The care provider can also call the patient directly through theapplication periodically and/or based on the ostomy data received fromthe patient's ostomy device. The care providers can also establish,view, and rearrange their schedule of appointments.

Care providers may include nurses, psychologists, doctors, and moreexperienced ostomy patients (patient coaches) that are trained toprovided care and support. The patient coaches may be ostomy patientsthat are recruited through social media or by doctor recommendation toprovide emotional and educational support to the new patient. Thepatient coaches may go through a certification process and can providecoaching and create content on the platform on a regular basis (forexample, at least 4, 5, 6, 8, or more articles per year). The patientcoaches may serve as the first person that the patient interacts withwhen they have a question and may redirect medical or severe emotionalissues to an appropriate professional. The patient coach may also haveaccess to data from a patient's smart bag and/or wafer and be notifiedof alerts generated by the smart bag. For example, the smart bag maydetermine that the patient is dehydrated. The patient coach may contactthe patient to determine if the alert is correct and whether the patientneeds to be evaluated and treated by a professional clinician. Thepatient coach and/or the professional clinician may order delivery oftreatment to the patient. The patient coach may identify possiblemalfunctioning of the ostomy device based on the data. The patient coachmay also provide technical support in the form of teaching the patienthow to use their ostomy device.

A patient may be paired with a patient coach using a pairing algorithm(such as based on location, gender, age, type of ostomy surgeryreceived, and/or the type of support needed by the patient, for example,technical support, emotional support, and/or others), or select apatient coach based on any one or combination of the aforementionedfactors. When multiple patient coaches qualify, the patient may beallowed to look through and select from the list of qualified coaches.One patient can be paired with more than one patient coaches, forexample, different patient coaches may focus on different types ofsupport. One patient coach can be paired with one or more patients.

The type of care provided by the care providers can be in a variety ofmedical and lifestyle arenas, including in the areas of ostomyself-care, ostomy supplies, social interaction, job, school or anyactivity integration and self-knowledge to prevent health complications.In addition to being available to answer questions and address concerns,patients may be contacted periodically by care providers to follow upwith the patient regarding their recovery from the ostomy procedure andtransition into life with a stoma. In the days and weeks following anostomy procedure, this contact may occur multiple times a week. After afew months, this contact may occur less frequently, for example movingdown to every other week and then on an as needed basis. Different typesof care providers may contact the patient at different periodicintervals. For example, a nurse care provider may contact the patientmore frequently early on after the stoma procedure to ensure that thepatient is properly healing. A psychologist care provider may contactthe patient on a regular schedule for a period of time following theprocedure, such as weekly or biweekly, and then on an as needed basis. Apatient coach may interact with the patient weekly, such as through asupport group, and/or interact with the patient on an as needed basis.An intelligence (AI) service can also optionally be available. The AIservice can be made available to the patient, including when the patientcoach or healthcare professionals are not available. The AI service canbe equipped with natural language processing and can be trained toanswer educational questions, such as commonly asked questions fromostomy patients.

Example Ostomy Monitoring System

In FIG. 1, an overview of an ostomy monitoring environment 100 isprovided in which an ostomy device 102 used by a patient may bemonitored. In this environment 100, the ostomy device 102 is shown incommunication with a user device 130. The user device 130 is shown incommunication with other devices over a network 140. These other devicesinclude, in the example shown, a clinician device(s) 160, a backendsystem 170, and third-party systems 150. The ostomy monitoringenvironment 100 depicts an example environment, and more or fewerdevices may communicate with the ostomy device 102 in other systems ordevices. The ostomy monitoring environment 100 can enable a user andothers (such as clinicians) to monitor various aspects related to theuser's ostomy device 102, such as ostomy bag fill, leaks, and skinirritation.

The ostomy device 102 is shown having two main components, an ostomywafer 104 and an ostomy bag 120.

The ostomy wafer 104 can be an adhesive pad, flange, or the like thatattaches to a patient's skin around a stoma 110. The stoma 104 caninclude, for example, an aperture or hole in a patient's abdomen (orother location) resulting from a colostomy, ileostomy, urostomy, orother similar medical procedure. The ostomy bag 120 can removably attachto the ostomy wafer 104. The ostomy bag 120 can receive and store anyoutput (e.g., effluent) from the stoma 110. Once the ostomy bag 120 hasreached its designed capacity, the patient (or care provider) may removethe ostomy bag 120 from the ostomy wafer 104, discard or empty it, andattach a new ostomy bag 120 (or clean and reattach the old ostomy bag120). In another example, the ostomy bag 120 is provided or soldtogether with the ostomy wafer 104 as a single device, with the ostomywafer 104 integrally formed with the ostomy bag 120. The ostomy bag 122collects human waste (both stools and urine) from patients who cannotexcrete waste naturally due to medical issues, which span from cancer,trauma, inflammatory bowel disease, bowel obstruction, infection, andincontinence. In such cases, a procedure can be performed where a wastepassage is created (colostomy, ileostomy, or urostomy) and diverted to asection of the abdominal wall. This ostomy bag 122 can be made ofnon-porous sterile plastic materials such as, but not limited to,polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, ethylene vinyl acetate, polypropylene,and copolyester ether. An ostomy bag 122 can be a medical bag that has acarbon filter port or gas sensor placed on the port. The carbon filterport and can be placed on the bag to allow gas to escape to preventostomy bag 120 rupture. The gas sensor can detect the pungency of thegas to determine the status of the user's gut.

The sensors of the ostomy wafer 110 can be disposed in a sensor layer(described in detail below) that generally or partially has a similar orthe same shape outline as the ostomy wafer 110. For example, if theostomy wafer 110 is shaped like a donut or annulus, the sensor layer mayinclude a generally annular shape. The sensor layer can also have ashape that differs from the general shape of the wafer 10, such as apartially annular or partial ring shape.

The ostomy wafer 110 can be a flexible sheet with one or more layers,and optionally, multiple layers including one or more sensor layers. Oneor more of the layers of the ostomy wafer 110 may include one or more ofthe following sensors: temperature sensors (such as thermistors),capacitive sensors, flex sensors, odor sensors, microfluidic sensors,leak sensors, combinations of the same, or the like.

The sensors can detect the output of the stoma 104. The sensors 104 cansense the phase and/or constituents of the effluent or output of stoma104. Temperature sensors can be used to determine whether there isinflammation at the site of the stoma or if there is a leak. Temperaturesensors may also be used to determine how much gas is in the bag bydetecting the phasing of the constituents. A capacitive sensor may serveas a fallback to a temperature sensor to determine if there is a leak. Acapacitive sensor may be used to detect moisture, thus may also be usedto determine a level of the effluent in the ostomy bag. If microfluidicsensors are used, the sensors can be used to detect electrolytes orinflammation markers within the constituents. This data can be used toshow the user what he or she needs to intake or do to obtain a healthybalance. An odor sensor can determine whether there is bacterial growthin the gut. An inertial measurement unit (“IMU”) sensor, a form ofpositional indicator (such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, etc.), can beintegrated. An optical sensor or camera may also be integrated where thesensor looks down over stoma and into the bag in order to detect adegrading stoma, blood in the stool, etc. A pH sensor may also beintegrated as well to determine the acidity of the constituents of thebag.

The ostomy wafer 110 can be any size. The size of the ostomy wafer 110can depend on the type of stoma that the wafer 110 is used with. Forexample, a colostomy stoma can be larger than a urostomy stoma. Thus,the ostomy wafer 104 can be sized larger for some colostomy stomas thanfor some urostomy stomas. The ostomy wafer 110 can be in any of avariety of different shapes. The ostomy wafer 110 can have a generallyannular shape, such as a ring, donut, or the like. Or, the ostomy wafer110 can have a more rectangular of square shape (optionally with roundedcorners).

A donut shape or partial ring shape can be used for the sensor layer ofthe ostomy wafer. These shapes may have a user customizability featureby facilitating cutting the sensor layer to better fit the stoma 104.Either design may also have a flexible bottom which aids in flexibilityand which equates to better user comfort.

The flexible sheet can be layered in structure to encapsulate thesensors. Encapsulation ensures or attempts to ensure that thetemperature sensors are held in position in the flexible sheet and thatthey are protected from corrosion by the external environment. As analternative to encapsulation, the temperature sensors may be protectedfrom corrosion by a coating, such as a conformal coating. Some systemscan have at least one temperature sensor in the second region of theflexible sheet that is protected by a conformal coating.

The ostomy wafer 104 can have an adhesive side that adheres to skinaround a stoma 110 and/or directly to the stoma 110. The adhesive can bea double-sided adhesive. The adhesive may be a hydrocolloid adhesive.

The ostomy wafer 110 and the ostomy bag sensor 124 can collect patientdata and can transmit the data either directly or via a hub 122 to amobile device, such as a user device 130. The data can then be sent to anetwork 140, third-party systems 150, a clinician device 160, a backendsystem 170, or to patient data storage 180. The transmission may occurvia a wireless transmitter or via wires. Wireless transmission may usenear-field communication a combination of NFC and Bluetooth. Thewireless transmitter may be incorporated into the hub 122 or may operateseparately. In one configuration, the hub 122 can have a wirelesstransmitter. The wireless transmitter may include a Bluetoothtransmitter, a radio transmitter, or a Wi-Fi transmitter. The Bluetoothtransmitter may include a Bluetooth module and/or a Bluetooth low energy(BLE) module. A Bluetooth module may be, but is not limited to, aBluetooth version 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rates) module. A Bluetooth lowenergy module may be a Bluetooth module such as, but not limited to, aBluetooth version 4.0 (Bluetooth smart), a Bluetooth version 4.1, aBluetooth version 4.2 or a Bluetooth version 5. The Bluetooth sensormodule may include a Bluetooth module using IPv6 Internet ProtocolSupport Profile (IPSP). The Bluetooth module and/or the Bluetooth lowenergy module may use or include newer versions than the versionsdescribed above.

The hub 122 can be in various positions on the device 102. The hub 122can be placed in many areas on the ostomy bag 120. The hub 122 can beplaced in the front, the back, next to a carbon filter (not shown), orthe like. The hub 122 can also be placed in a pocket on the ostomy bag120 or the hub 122 could be a replaceable feature on ostomy bag 120. Thehub 122 can also come in different forms. When the hub is removed fromthe ostomy bag 120 it can use previous collected data and carry overthat data to the next subsequent ostomy bag 120 that it is placed upon.This can increase patient data feedback and save money for the user bynot throwing away hubs 122 so frequently. The ostomy bag 120 may alsohave a flexible sheet sensor 124 including thermal sensors that cancompare the temperature in a first fusion of a flexible sheet with thetemperature in the second region of the flexible sheet. The hub 122 mayalso include a processor. In order to preserve battery life, thewireless transmitter may be switchable to an active mode and idle mode.

The user device 130 can be any device with a processor and a wirelessreceiver that can communicate with the hub 122. For example, the userdevice 130 can be a phone, smart phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, audioassistant or smart speaker (such as an Amazon Echo™, Google Home™, AppleHomePod™, or the like), television, or the like that may pairautomatically to the wireless transmitter and may include a mechanismthat advises the user of the subsistence of a wireless link between thewireless receiver and the wireless transmitter. The user device 130 mayhave software and algorithms to process the data to show the user thestatus of the fill of the bag, the nearest restroom, nearest sources ofelectrolytes, nearest source of food, patterns and contents ofdischarge, hydration levels, possible skin irritation, recommendationsto improve the user's condition, combinations of the same, or the like.The user device 130 may also transmit the data wirelessly to a network140. The network 140 can be a local area network (LAN), a wide areanetwork (WAN), the Internet, an Intranet, combinations of the same, orthe like.

The third-party systems 150 can be data processing tools/features, smarthome devices, backend servers for audio assistance, fitness trackers,personal health monitors, or any third-party systems that can use ormanipulate the data collected by the device 102. These third-partysystems 150 may also include algorithms and software to calculate andprocess the data.

Third party systems 150 and smart home devices can fetch or receive datafrom the device 102 to announce reminders or alerts for the user such asto empty the bag, change the bag, change the hub, intake or stopin-taking certain types of food, intake water, and/or providing periodiccheck ins. Other third-party systems may use data collected from allusers to create a better feedback system or to identify patterns withina demographic of ostomy patients and/or bag users.

The care provider device 160 can be a data processing system ormonitoring program used by a clinician. The care provider 160 alsoincludes a data processing system or monitoring program used by apatient coach. These care provider devices 160 may fetch or receive datafrom the device 102 to provide a remote clinician with information whichmay assist the clinician to diagnose the user, recommend actions to theuser, or function as an augmented reality system for the clinicianand/or the patient coach. These care provider devices 160 may alsoinclude algorithms and software to calculate and process the data.

The backend system 170 can also use algorithms and software to performdata processing. For instance, the backend system 170 can process anydata received from the sensors on the wafer and/or bag and returninformation based on that processing to the user device 130 or otherdevices. Another optional feature is an inclusion of a patient datastorage system 180. From here the backend system can send the data tothe patient data storage wirelessly, or the patient data storage canaccess the data from the network 140.

Algorithms and software can show when the user should replace the bag,alert the user when the bag is nearly full or when there is a leak inthe bag. Software features include, but are not limited to, the nearestrestrooms within the user's radius, the volume of the user's pouch,alarms for different fill levels, a hydration and electrolyte trackerwhich calculates the user's recommended daily hydration goal with analgorithm. The hydration and electrolyte software can notify the userbased off their effluent constituency, what his or her dietary needs maybe throughout the day, etc.

Example Patient Care Interfaces

FIGS. 2A-2D depict example patient care interfaces 200 that, as shown,provide patients (e.g., FIG. 2A, 2B, 2D) and care providers (e.g., FIG.2B, 2C, 2D) with an interface for communicating and providing care andcoaching. Patient user interfaces may be displayed on the user device130 of FIG. 1. Similarly, care provider user interfaces may be displayedon the care provider device 160 or on another user device (like the userdevice 130). The care provider user interfaces need not be operated by aclinician but can be operated by a trained patient coach or “champion,”such as a more seasoned ostomy patient who is not a healthcareprofessional. The backend system 170 can include software thatfacilitates communications between the user device 130 and the clinicianor care provider device 160.

The interface includes various means of establishing communicationbetween the patient and care provider. For example, the patient may beable to use the interface to contact a care provider by calling themthrough a video chat feature (e.g., FIG. 2D) of the interface.Alternatively, they may schedule an appointment (e.g., FIGS. 2A, 2B) tomeet in person or via the application through a calendar application.The care provider can also call the patient directly through theapplication. The care provider can also establish, view, and rearrangetheir schedule of appointments (e.g., FIG. 2C).

Each of the user interfaces shown includes one or more user interfacecontrols that can be selected by a user, for example, using a browser orother application software (such as a mobile application). Thus, each ofthe user interfaces shown may be displayed for presentation byelectronic hardware as graphical user interfaces, which may optionallyinclude a browser, or any other application software installed thereonthat displays the user interfaces.

The user interface controls shown are merely illustrative examples andcan be varied in other embodiments. For instance, any of the userinterface controls shown may be substituted with other types of userinterface controls that provide the same or similar functionality. Someexamples of user interface controls that may be used include buttons,dropdown boxes, select boxes, text boxes or text fields, checkboxes,radio buttons, toggles, breadcrumbs (e.g., identifying a page orinterface that is displayed), sliders, search fields, paginationcontrols, tags, icons, tooltips, progress bars, notifications, messageboxes, image carousels, modal windows (such as pop-ups), date and/ortime pickers, accordions (for example, a vertically stacked list withshow/hide functionality), and the like. Additional user interfacecontrols not listed here may be used.

Further, user interface controls may be combined or divided into othersets of user interface controls such that similar functionality or thesame functionality may be provided with very different looking userinterfaces. Moreover, each of the user interface controls may beselected by a user using one or more input options, such as a mouse,touch screen input (e.g., finger or pen), or keyboard input, among otheruser interface input options. Although each of these user interfaces areshown implemented in a mobile device, the user interfaces or similaruser interfaces can be displayed by any computing device, examples ofwhich are described above.

Example Patient Care Providers

Care providers may be clinicians, such as nurses, doctors, andpsychologists, or patient coaches. Clinicians may provide professionalsupport as needed. This support may include contacting the patient on aset schedule for a period of time after discharge to ensure recoveryfrom the ostomy procedure or be available to the patient to contact onan as needed basis. Patient coaches may provide lifestyle, educational,and ostomy device related support.

The patient coaches may be experienced ostomy patients that arespecially trained to provide coaching to new ostomy patients. A patientcoach may be recruited through other patient coaches, social media, orby clinician recommendation. The patient coaches may be paid to providesocial media content, create educational material, answer questionsregarding life with an ostomy bag, give lifestyle advice, provideemotional support to new ostomy patients using the platform, and/or actas a preliminary interpreter of patient and ostomy bag data. The patientcoaches' protocols may determine whether any abnormalities in the ostomybag data would require attention from a clinician and/or an ostomydevice manufacturer.

As part of their duties, a patient coach may be tasked withcommunicating with a patient, or multiple patients, on a regular basis.This communication may be done by running a support group through thepatient user interface by which other ostomy patients can interact witheach other to provide encouragement, comfort, and advice. Thiscommunication may involve having set hours by which a patient cancontact the patient coach with questions or for needed emotionalsupport. The patient coach may communicate with the patient byappointment. The appointments may be managed through the patient careinterface.

Example Patient Care Alerts

The patient coach may be notified of alerts associated with the ostomydevice 102 or patient care interface 200. The patient coach may thenreview the alerts and determine what, if any, further action needs to betaken (for example, pursuant to preset protocols) to address the alerts.These alerts can include technical alerts associated with the ostomydevice or other alerts associated with use of the ostomy device.

Technical alerts can include when sensors 124 may be disconnected ormalfunctioning, when there is an inability of the user device 130 toconnect with the hub 122, or the like. In the case of technical alerts,the patient coach may contact the patient to attempt to determine thesource of the alert and propose a solution to the problem, if feasible.For example, the alert may be that the ostomy device 102 has notconnected to the user device 130 after a set period of time, such as anumber of hours or days. The patient coach may contact the patient todetermine if the ostomy device 102 is properly connected. The patientcoach may determine that a battery associated with ostomy device 102 hasbeen discharged and requires recharging. The patient coach can then walkthrough the recharging process with the patient. In other embodiments,the technical alert may be that a sensor is not transmitting data. Thepatient coach may contact the patient to determine if the ostomy device102 is properly connected. Where further technical assistance isnecessary, the device manufacturer may be contacted. The devicemanufacturer may directly receive a technical alert. The devicemanufacturer may then contact the patient to determine if assistance isnecessary or if the device is defective.

Alerts associated with use of the ostomy device may include alertsrelated to dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, abnormally high or lowparameters, such as stomal output, presence or absence of certainbiomarkers, or skin irritation. The patient coach can forward suchalerts to a clinician for further assistance. FIG. 3A illustrates anexample patient care hydration monitoring process 300 through which analert may be generated, and a patient coach may respond. The process canbe implemented for any other parameters associated with use of theostomy device. At block 310, a processor can determine patient intakethrough a tracker provided to the patient, such as a food and/orhydration tracker. An example tracker is illustrated in FIG. 3B. Atblock 312, the processor can monitor sensors associated with the ostomydevice 102 ostomy bag hydration related information, such as the volumein the bag. At block 314, the processor can determine a hydration levelusing software and algorithms that analyze the patient intake data andthe sensor data to determine a hydration level. At block 316, theprocessor can analyze the hydration level to determine if it falls belowa threshold value. The threshold value may correspond to a value atwhich fluid loss exceeds fluid intake. In other embodiments, a thresholdvalue may correspond to the point at which the patient would normallystart to feel a disruption of metabolic processes due to fluid loss. Inother embodiments, there may be more than one threshold value. Forexample, a first threshold value can correspond to low levels ofhydration that would not yet medically qualify as dehydration and asecond threshold value can correspond to medical dehydration. If thehydration level falls below a threshold value, the processor can triggeran alarm at block 318. Alternatively, if the hydration level does notfall below a threshold value, the system can continue monitoring thepatient without triggering an alarm. Various protocols can be used todetermine the hydration level. For example, extremely high output perday (such as greater than 1500 mL or 1800 mL per day) may indicatepotential dehydration as the intestines are not absorbing water.Extremely low output per day may also indicate potential dehydration asthe patient may not be drinking enough water.

Different alarms can be triggers when different threshold values arecrossed. For example, an alarm due to the crossing of the first valuecan allow the patient coach to contact the patient to remind the patientto hydrate, and an alarm due to the crossing of the second value canallow the patient coach to request intervention by a clinician. Thesystem can also optionally recommend to the patient the nearesthydration venue based on the patient's location, for example, aconvenience store, restaurant, café, and the like. Different levels ofclinician intervention can also optionally be present. For example, anurse can communicate with the patient to remind the patient to hydratein case of mild dehydration. In case of more severe dehydration, theclinician can dispatch medication and/or IV infusion to the patient(such as at the patient's home). In case of very severe dehydration, thepatient coach and/or the clinician can dispatch a driver to pick up thepatient and send the patient to an emergency room or clinic fortreatment.

The alarm can be triggered on the user device 130 and a care providerdevice 160. The patient coach can contact the patient when an alert istriggered to determine if the alert is valid due to accurate patientintake information and whether further action, such as medicalintervention, is necessary. If medical intervention is deemed necessary,the patient coach can direct the patient to seek immediate medical care,refer the patient to a clinician, and direct the patient to increasetheir intake of fluids so as to avoid further dehydration.

Advantageously, the patient coach's monitoring of the patient throughthe alert system can decrease patient hospital readmission. For example,dehydration is a common reason why patients are readmitted into thehospital in the first three months following an ostomy procedure andpatient coaches can reduce occurrence and/or extent of dehydrationbefore it becomes serious enough for immediate medical attention bydirecting a patient to the problem. Additionally, the patient coachserving as an interpreter of patient data at an early stage can reduceunnecessary medical intervention due to false alerts that may resultfrom a malfunctioning ostomy device 102 or failure of the patient toaccurately record data. Patient coaches serving in this function canalso build a rapport with the patient, improving the patient experience,and use such contacts as a means to educate the patient about using theostomy device 102 and properly caring for their stoma.

Another Example Patient Monitoring Process

FIG. 3C depicts an example process for monitoring a patient. The processcan be implemented using aspects of the system shown in FIG. 1. Theprocess of 3C depicts another example integration of a patient coach, anurse, a doctor, and/or a manufacturer to provide support to the newpatient using data from the ostomy bag sensor.

In the example process shown in 3C, a patient may be wearing an ostomybag or wafer with a sensor, and an application (whether cloud-based oron a user device) may analyze data from the sensor(s) and output analert. The alert may be an indication of dehydration, infection, fluidimbalance, a biomarker exceeding a threshold, or some other alert basedin part on ostomy sensor output.

The application may provide a user interface that allows the user totrack fluid (and/or solid) intake. The user interface may include, forinstance, user interface controls (such as buttons, icons, text boxes,or the like) that enable a user to specify how much fluid intake theuser has had. When the user drinks something, the user can input thatthe user has drunk something and indicate approximately how much theuser drank. FIG. 3B illustrates example mobile application screens showhow much the user has drunk during a day, as input into the application(a user can also select one of the icons in the left screenshot to inputadditional indications that fluid has been drunk and amounts):

Thus, the application can have an approximate indication of how muchfluid and/or solid the user has consumed, and the application can havean indication of the output into the ostomy bag based on informationobtained from the one or more sensors. The application can thereforetake the difference between the output and the input to detect a fluidimbalance or dehydration.

The alert can be sent from the application over a network to the backendsystem at step 322 in FIG. 3C. Likewise, the patient can be informed ofthe alert on the patient's application (for example, on the user device)at step 320.

Following the left path in FIG. 3C, the alert can be sent to a doctor ata step 326, who may be notified and generate an automatic eScript(electronic prescription) for intravenous (IV) fluids or other forms oftreatment (such as antibiotics, a new ostomy bag, and the like) at astep 328. The provider of the ostomy bag and/or application can benotified, and insurance can be billed at a step 340. Likewise, a nursecan be notified so that the nurse can schedule an appointment toadminister an IV infusion to the patient at a step 332, if the doctordeemed an IV infusion necessary or desired. The patient coach candirectly order delivery of fluid to the patient, such as for oralconsumption in the case of more mild dehydration of the patient.

Following the right path in FIG. 3C, after the alert is sent to thepatient at a step 322, optionally if the alert warrants an IV infusion,then a qualifying questionnaire can be sent to the patient to assistwith triaging the alert at a step 324. The questionnaire may includequestions designed to identify a seriousness of the patient's fluidimbalance or dehydration. More seriously dehydrated or imbalancedpatients can be automatically prioritized by the backend system (seeFIG. 1) to bring the more serious patients' alerts to the attention of anurse or doctor before less serious alerts. In another examplesituation, the alert can include an indication of its seriousness basedon the amount of fluid imbalance, with greater fluid imbalances leadingto more serious alerts. Thus, the questionnaire may be omitted.

However, the questionnaire may also include payment terms, such as cashor insurance. If payment terms are not satisfied, the patient may stillbe connected with the patient coach or a call with the patient coach maybe scheduled automatically via the application at a step 330. In thatway, even patients that cannot afford an immediate IV infusion canreceive support from the patient coach, following the patient coachexample features discussed elsewhere herein.

If payment is satisfied, a nurse can meet with the patient andadminister the IV infusion, if ordered by the doctor at a step 334.Nurses can be nurses who work with ostomy patients regularly and areexperienced at assisting ostomy patients. A list of available nurses andtheir contact information can be accessible to the backend system.

Once the patient recovers at a step 336, the nurse and/or patient coachcan follow up with the patient (e.g., using the telehealth feature ofthe application) to provide instruction, encouragement, and support at astep 338.

Example Patient Care Workflow

As part of providing care, care providers may be tasked withcommunicating with new ostomy patients. Care providers may contact thepatients on a set schedule or as needed. For example, the care providermay contact the patient prior to the ostomy procedure to provide supportto the patient prior to the procedure. For a period of time followingthe procedure, for example two months, the care provider may contact thepatient on a weekly basis. After that initial period, the care providermay continue to contact the patient on a weekly basis or as neededdepending on the patient's individual ability to adapt to their newlifestyle with a stoma. The communication schedule and the identity ofthe patient care provider may be altered based on patient need. Thepatient need may be determined by pre-determined critical intervalsafter the ostomy procedure, based on care provider determination, basedon a computer algorithm, or by patient request. In other embodiments,the patient coach may determine that a patient needs more extensiveemotional support than the patient coach can provide and arrange for apsychologist to contact the patient.

FIG. 4 depicts an example patient care workflow 400 according to thepatient care systems and methods described herein. The workflow can bein addition to the patient coach program disclosed herein. This exampleworkflow includes the following:

At block 410, corresponding to Day 1, a chronically ill or emergencypatient may be introduced to at least one care provider such as a nurseand patient coach.

At block 412, while the patient remains in hospital and after discharge,which in one configuration may be about 5 days after surgery, an accountmanager may work with the hospital medical team to address any technicalissues. The case manager may also inform the patient of how to accesssupplies of the smart bag, etc.

At block 414, corresponding to the period of time immediately afterdischarge, an example patient care and/or ostomy device provider mayreceive an alert that the patient has been discharged and verify withtechnical support that the ostomy device and patient care interface areconnected properly.

At block 416, corresponding to the period of about 3 Months afterdischarge, a care provider, such as a patient coach may contact thepatient using a patient care interface 200 3×a week for 2 months toprovide support and education regarding lifestyle as an ostomate,hydration, food related issues, pain and stress management and check onthe patient's well-being and potential complications such as dehydrationand/or skin irritation and verify that the patient is using the sensorand tracker correctly. Additionally, the patient coach may request thatanother care provider, who may be a healthcare professional, to contactthe patient using a patient care interface 200, for example, at leastonce a week for 2 months to provide emotional support, discuss thepsychology of the situation.

At block 418, corresponding to the period of about 3-6 Months afterdischarge, care providers such as, a patient coach and/or a nurse (orany other healthcare professional) may contact the patient using apatient care interface 200 once every 2 weeks or as needed, providingsupport as needed.

At block 420, corresponding to the period of After 6 Months, careproviders such as, a patient coach and/or a nurse (or any otherhealthcare professional) may contact the patient using a patient careinterface 200 as needed, providing support as needed.

In addition to the set schedule, the patient may contact the patientcoach (and other care providers through the patient coach) using thepatient care interface 200 on demand as needed throughout the wholeprocess.

Terminology

Many other variations than those described herein will be apparent fromthis disclosure. For example, depending on the embodiment, certain acts,events, or functions of any of the algorithms described herein can beperformed in a different sequence, can be added, merged, or left outaltogether (e.g., not all described acts or events are necessary for thepractice of the algorithms) Moreover, in certain embodiments, acts orevents can be performed concurrently, e.g., through multi-threadedprocessing, interrupt processing, or multiple processors or processorcores or on other parallel architectures, rather than sequentially. Inaddition, different tasks or processes can be performed by differentmachines and/or computing systems that can function together.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and algorithm stepsdescribed in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can beimplemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinationsof both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, and stepshave been described above generally in terms of their functionality.Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or softwaredepends upon the particular application and design constraints imposedon the overall system. The described functionality can be implemented invarying ways for each particular application, but such implementationdecisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from thescope of the disclosure.

The various illustrative logical blocks and modules described inconnection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented orperformed by a machine, such as a hardware processor comprising digitallogic circuitry, a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor(DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device,discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor can be a controller, microcontroller, orstate machine, combinations of the same, or the like. A processor caninclude electrical circuitry configured to process computer-executableinstructions. In another embodiment, a processor includes an FPGA orother programmable device that performs logic operations withoutprocessing computer-executable instructions. A processor can also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration. A computing environment can include any type of computersystem, including, but not limited to, a computer system based on amicroprocessor, a mainframe computer, a digital signal processor, aportable computing device, a device controller, or a computationalengine within an appliance, to name a few.

The steps of a method, process, or algorithm described in connectionwith the embodiments disclosed herein can be embodied directly inhardware, in a software module stored in one or more memory devices andexecuted by one or more processors, or in a combination of the two. Asoftware module can reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory,EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, aCD-ROM, or any other form of non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium, media, or physical computer storage known in the art. An examplestorage medium can be coupled to the processor such that the processorcan read information from, and write information to, the storage medium.In the alternative, the storage medium can be integral to the processor.The storage medium can be volatile or nonvolatile. The processor and thestorage medium can reside in an ASIC.

Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “might,”“may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, orotherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intendedto convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments donot include, certain features, elements and/or states. Thus, suchconditional language is not generally intended to imply that features,elements and/or states are in any way required for one or moreembodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logicfor deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether thesefeatures, elements and/or states are included or are to be performed inany particular embodiment. The terms “comprising,” “including,”“having,” and the like are synonymous and are used inclusively, in anopen-ended fashion, and do not exclude additional elements, features,acts, operations, and so forth. Also, the term “or” is used in itsinclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense) so that when used, forexample, to connect a list of elements, the term “or” means one, some,or all of the elements in the list. Further, the term “each,” as usedherein, in addition to having its ordinary meaning, can mean any subsetof a set of elements to which the term “each” is applied.

Disjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y and Z,”unless specifically stated otherwise, is to be understood with thecontext as used in general to convey that an item, term, etc. may beeither X, Y, or Z, or a combination thereof. Thus, such conjunctivelanguage is not generally intended to imply that certain embodimentsrequire at least one of X, at least one of Y and at least one of Z toeach be present.

Unless otherwise explicitly stated, articles such as “a” or “an” shouldgenerally be interpreted to include one or more described items.Accordingly, phrases such as “a device configured to” are intended toinclude one or more recited devices. Such one or more recited devicescan also be collectively configured to carry out the stated recitations.For example, “a processor configured to carry out recitations A, B andC” can include a first processor configured to carry out recitation Aworking in conjunction with a second processor configured to carry outrecitations B and C.

While the above detailed description has shown, described, and pointedout novel features as applied to various embodiments, it will beunderstood that various omissions, substitutions, and changes in theform and details of the devices or algorithms illustrated can be madewithout departing from the spirit of the disclosure. As will berecognized, certain embodiments of the inventions described herein canbe embodied within a form that does not provide all of the features andbenefits set forth herein, as some features can be used or practicedseparately from others.

1.-22. (canceled)
 23. A method of remotely providing post-operative careto an ostomy patient, the method comprising: using at least one hardwareprocessor in communication with a non-transitory storage mediumconfigured to store computer-executable instructions: receiving andprocessing, over a network, ostomy data associated with use of an ostomydevice by the ostomy patient; transmitting, over the network, theprocessed ostomy data to an application configured to facilitateproviding post-operative support to the ostomy patient; receiving aninput from the application in response to the processed ostomy data,wherein the input comprises responses automatically generated by anartificial intelligence service; and transmitting the input to thepatient device.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the ostomy datafurther comprises patient input data or at least a stomal outputmeasurement, or both.
 25. The method of claim 24, further comprisinggenerating a monitored value based on the ostomy data.
 26. The method ofclaim 25, further comprising generating an alert if the monitored valueexceeds or falls below a threshold value, wherein the processed ostomydata comprises the alert.
 27. The method of claim 26, further comprisingautomatically transmitting a questionnaire to the ostomy patient inresponse to the alert and assessing a severity of the alert based atleast in part on the ostomy patient's answer(s) to the questionnaire.28. The method of claim 25, wherein the monitored value is indicative ofthe ostomy patient's hydration status.
 29. The method of claim 26,further comprising automatically prioritizing more severe alerts forattention of a care provider configured to be contacted via theapplication.
 30. The method of claim 23, wherein the artificialintelligence service is activated in response to a human patient coachbeing unavailable to review the ostomy data at the application.
 31. Themethod of claim 23, wherein the artificial intelligence service istrained to answer questions related to use of the ostomy device.
 32. Themethod of claim 31, wherein the artificial intelligence service isequipped with natural language processing.
 33. A system configured toremotely provide post-operative care to an ostomy patient, the methodcomprising: a non-transitory storage medium configured to storecomputer-executable instructions; and at least one hardware processor incommunication with the non-transitory storage medium, wherein the atleast one hardware processor is configured to: receive and process, overa network, ostomy data associated with use of an ostomy device by theostomy patient; transmit, over the network, the processed ostomy data toan application configured to facilitate providing post-operative supportto the ostomy patient; receive an input from the application in responseto the processed ostomy data, wherein the input comprises responsesautomatically generated by an artificial intelligence service; andtransmit the input to the patient device.
 34. The system of claim 33,wherein the ostomy data further comprises patient input data or at leasta stomal output measurement, or both.
 35. The system of claim 34,wherein the at least one hardware processor is configured to generate amonitored value based on the ostomy data.
 36. The system of claim 35,wherein the at least one hardware processor is further configured togenerate an alert if the monitored value exceeds or falls below athreshold value, wherein the processed ostomy data comprises the alert.37. The system of 35, wherein the monitored value is indicative of theostomy patient's hydration status.
 38. The system of claim 36, whereinthe at least one hardware processor is further configured toautomatically transmit a questionnaire to the ostomy patient in responseto the alert and assess a severity of the alert based at least in parton the ostomy patient's answer(s) to the questionnaire.
 39. The systemof claim 36, wherein the at least one hardware processor is furtherconfigured to automatically prioritize more severe alerts for attentionof a care provider configured to be contacted via the application. 40.The system of claim 33, wherein the artificial intelligence service isactivated in response to a human patient coach being unavailable toreview the ostomy data at the application.
 41. The system of claim 33,wherein the artificial intelligence service is trained to answerquestions related to use of the ostomy device.
 42. The system of claim41, wherein the artificial intelligence service is equipped with naturallanguage processing.